Taliban Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, Abdul Salam Hanafi, has called on foreign nations to refrain from interfering in the group’s internal affairs, stating that the Taliban expects the same respect it extends to others.
Speaking during his visit to China, Hanafi emphasised that the Taliban does not interfere in the internal matters of any country and does not allow “any individual or group” to use Afghan soil to threaten other nations.
“We expect the same reciprocity from other countries and urge them not to interfere in our governance,” he said, according to a statement released by the Taliban’s prime minister office on Friday.
Hanafi made the remarks while attending the 9th China-South Asia Expo, where he also expressed the Taliban administration’s interest in expanding cooperation with China and South Asian countries in areas such as mining, energy, transit, technology, and trade.
His comments come shortly after the Taliban unilaterally terminated what it described as its “largest” oil exploration and extraction contract with China. The deal, signed last year in the presence of Taliban Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar and the Chinese ambassador to Kabul, involved the Chinese company Afchin and the Taliban’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.
Last week, the ministry announced the termination of the contract, citing the company’s failure to meet its obligations.
